Veteran hasn’t ever missed homecoming in Chatham

John Haines hasn’t missed a single Chatham Homecoming since American Legion Post 759 started the celebration 61 years ago.

Amanda Reavy

John Haines hasn’t missed a single Chatham Homecoming since American Legion Post 759 started the celebration 61 years ago.

“I do remember the first one, but that’s been a few years back,” Haines, 83, quipped.

The event began as a big community picnic to show support for local troops who returned home from overseas after World War II. Haines has watched it grow into a three-day festival featuring carnival rides, live music, a parade and plenty of food.

Haines, an Army veteran who served in the South Pacific, volunteered his time at the event in its early days and hasn’t stopped since.

“I help (organizers) set up and do whatever I’m asked to do whenever I’m asked to do it,” he said.

For Haines and hundreds of other Chatham residents, the American Legion’s annual homecoming celebration has become a family tradition.

“A lot of people bring their kids and grandkids to ride the rides,” Haines said, noting that some former Chatham American Legion members who’ve moved away return to participate.

And like the original celebration, homecoming continues to honor servicemen and women by recognizing those who are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and, most recently, flooded communities along the Mississippi River, said Les Morgan, public information officer for the Chatham American Legion.

“The big thing we’re focusing on this year is we’re still carrying on the tradition of honoring troops when they come home. We’re asking any troops that have returned home or who are home on leave to march in the parade as the honorary grand marshals,” he said.

The parade starts at 2 p.m. Saturday, and military members are invited to participate in uniform. The homecoming celebration itself kicks off Thursday on the Chatham square with a ribbon cutting at 5 p.m. and continues through Saturday night.

Along with meeting new people, Haines said “having a good fish sandwich” is one of his favorite parts of attending homecoming year after year.

Legion members do a lot of the cooking along with many volunteers.

“We have a lot of guys that are in the Air National Guard who’ve been overseas and are home now. Several are leaving to go to school, some are deployed. This is where the volunteers are stepping in to help out in their absence,” Morgan said.

He said planning for the homecoming started in January, and the American Legion post assigns committees and chairmen to work on different facets of the event. Organizers meet at least twice a month and exchange phone calls and e-mails in between.

Morgan said more than 100 volunteers are involved, including residents of all ages and local Scouts.

It’s difficult to estimate how many people will attend this year, he said, but he noted that some residents plan their vacation time around the celebration.

“We’re the oldest festival like this in the area. We’re even older than the Sangamon County Fair. A lot of people don’t realize this,” Morgan said.

Morgan himself has worked at the homecoming for 18 years.

“It’s changed over the years, just in terms of the growth and how many people come, and that’s cool to see,” he said.

Amanda Reavy can be reached at (217) 788-1525 or amanda.reavy@sj-r.com.

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